But a comedy book is different from the kind of nonfiction pop science stuff that's written by semi-serious authors like Jonah Lehrer — the Malcolm Gladwell-type book. Comic writers make up quotes all the time. Is the Onion in trouble? They're always running with fake quotes, like, for example, Michele Bachmann expressing relief that "not a single American died" in the recent temple shooting. It should be okay in the realm of comedy. People get what comedy is, especially when there's a well-known it's-a-joke brand like "The Onion" plastered on it. Except they don't.

People can be pretty dumb. Should we set up the world for the safety of the dumb?

No need to set the world up for the safety of the dumb. It is the tyranny of the dumb that I find so terribly distressing. Well, that, plus the occasionally indecipherable proofs that I am not a robot. Just failed the first attempt and I am no robot.

My favorite warning of late is from the new Ford commercials where the new car owner slides back into their driveway(sideways) from the dealership lot. The tag at the bottom of the screen reads, " Vehicle movement simulated. Do not attempt."

The all-time winner in my book goes to the old warning on Pop-Tarts from years back that said, "Caution: May be hot when heated."

"No. Let them experience the consequences of their stupidity; it'll teach them to be less dumb next time."

I really wish that were true, but observed experience - 1) repeat offenders in prison, 2) Democrat voters, to take two obvious examples - suggests that stupid people are far too often immune to the lessons of their stupidity.

Christy said..."" Should we set up the world for the safety of the dumb? "

Haven't tort lawyers insured that the world is set up for the safety of the dumb."

Tort lawyers, along with idiot judges and idiot juries have certainly made it rewarding to harm yourself. This has prodived a stron incentive for businesses of all kinds to make their products idiot-proof.

The divider between comedy and commentary is imperfect. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show keeps hiding behind the "it's comedy!" curtain. He says the newspeople he ridicules should be circumspect, but he can say anything, because it's comedy.

Rush Limbaugh, I think, would say "it's entertainment". Doesn't matter whether it's on the front page of the NYT or the WSJ, or on the Onion or the National Lampoon. It's entertainment.

Costco probably doesn't want to sell Joan River's book, because they need the space for items that people will actually BUY.

They are in the business of moving merchandise, not a storage facility for items that are not going to generate revenue. It is all about inventory turn and not about soothing the ruffled feathers of some has been hack of a comedian.

I LOVE Costco and shop there monthly for BIG amounts of various supplies and good bargains. Last month I bought twoof these for only $15.00 each!! SCORE!!!

So basically Joan Rivers is telling us how super-elite she is that she doesn't have to go down to Costco to buy toilet paper. No way Jose! She doesn't even have to wipe her golden ass, she hasn't even had a bowel movement in 50 years.

"Fat wasn’t a condition, it was a way of life. In Girl Scouts, they had to let out my tent. I made Amos famous. I considered M&M’s one of the food groups. On my first day of summer camp I said, “Where should I put my trunk?” The counselor said, “Wrap it around your tusks.” A rapist grabbed me, took a look and said, “Maybe we could just be friends.” My boyfriend needed a Sherpa to climb on top of me. I was the only person who ran with the bulls carrying a bottle of A.1 Steak Sauce. My husband used to dress me with his eyes. I sat shiva when my neighborhood Arby’s closed.And you wonder why I’m bitter?"

Let's face it the last time Joan Rivers made someone laugh she was asking for a charity#$%^. Can we talk? Joan Rivers has had so many face lifts she has a beard. The last time some went "round the world" on Joan Rivers it took them eighty days. The last time Joan Rivers had relations with a man it took 24 hours...he grabbed the Polygrip, instead of the KY. Speaking of which...Joan Rivers called the KY Jelly Corp. to complain it added no flavor to her toast. When Joan Rivers takes a dump, she leaves dust bunnies.

No, in fact the world shouldn't stand in the way of letting people be as dumb as they want to be and when they realize how stupid they are, we shouldn't be obligated to take care of their stupidity for them.

I think for something to be considered a "lie," it should not only be something that a person knows is false but says is true, it should also be reasonable to expect that listeners will believe it to be true.

Marie Antoinette is obviously not alive and wikipedia tells me that Wilt is dead, too -- I don't know how many people would have to look that up -- so, especially if the Chamberlain quote is sufficiently ludicrous, a made-up quote on the back of what is clearly an attempted-humor book shouldn't really count as a lie.

Of course, if Costco wants to exclude it because they don't think it's clear that those are fake quotes, or because they are profane and on the cover, or because there's insufficient demand for the book, or any combination of the three, I can't really find fault.

I do think contemporary American society does too much to protect people from themselves, but I'm not sure making parody costly (e.g., by requiring that it be really, really obvious and excluding it from some spheres altogether) fits into that category because I'm not sure the purpose of such a restriction is to protect the stupid people. For example, if Michelle Bachmann loses reelection because some of her constituents believe she said something she didn't, that doesn't just hurt those constituents, that hurts all of us who depend on Bachmann's valuable contributions to the House.

Actually, I'm not sure that's the best example for my case, but I hope my point is clear.

Once in a Facebook argument I had 3different liberals quote SNL lines from the Bush and Palin impersonators, believing they were true quotes from Sarah and W. Democrat party = the evil leading the ignorant.